State legislators have approved a bill requiring Maryland to obtain 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
The Clean Energy Jobs Act now goes to governor Larry Hogan to be signed into law.
The bill, which raises and accelerates the current renewable portfolio standard of 22% by 2025, passed both the senate and house by overwhelming majorities. The measure includes a 2.5% solar carve-out.
The target will create incentives for roughly 1.3GW of new renewable energy in the region, said advocacy group Maryland Climate Coalition.
Maryland is already a leader in clean energy development, said American Wind Energy Association chief executive officer Tom Kiernan.
“These benefits can continue, and wind is among the biggest, fastest, cheapest options to get this job done, while locking in low prices for 20 years or more, said Kiernan. “The Clean Energy Jobs Act is a giant step forward.”
Wind projects have brought $330m in investment to Maryland and supports up to 500 jobs in the state, including manufacturing jobs at factories building parts and materials for wind turbines, said AWEA.
Image: the measure includes a 2.5% solar carve-out (sxc)
